The increasing number of Britons opting to stay in on weekends rather than go out as a result of the economic downturn has seen Domino's Pizza report upbeat sales for yet another quarter.

Britain's biggest pizza delivery chain said it was on track to beat market expectations for the year as people ate Pepperoni Passion and Texas BBQ on their sofas in front of the television as a recession-beating pastime.

The company has always recognised that the pizza business does well when times are hard, and has taken full advantage of the drop in advertising rates to continue to promote its discounts and deals to a cash-strapped public.

Sales were up 11% in the third quarter over the same period last year, pushing overall growth for the year to 8.3%. Earlier this year, the company said it was on track to beat market expectations as the economic downturn and the swine flu epidemic had seen record numbers of people staying at home.

The chain credited its TV advertising campaigns for the surge in sales, most notably its sponsorship of reality show Britain's Got Talent.

Chief executive Chris Moore said: "Our tactical marketing campaigns have played a major role in our success during the period, supported by the firepower of the national advertising fund and the deflationary media market."

The fund ring-fences part of its profits for advertising expenditure, with each of the company's 583 franchisees obliged to put 5% of all profits in, bolstering the marketing budget when sales are high.

Analysts and the stock market reacted positively to the announcement. Altium Securities said the company was "one of the most compelling growth stories", and upgraded its profit forecast to £28m from £27.2m previously, adding that further upgrades were likely. The share price was up 2% to 298.1p.